Marinated Chicken Spiedies
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Unleash your grill’s potential with these marinated Chicken Spiedies: succulent, herb-infused chicken cubes nestled in toasty Italian rolls, all lavished with a delectable homemade garlic sauce. It’s a symphony of flavors in every bite that will have you yearning for seconds!
The Best Marinated Chicken Spiedies With Garlic Sauce
Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the culinary triumph that is the marinated Chicken Spiedies! Imagine bite-sized morsels of chicken, bathing in a zesty, herb-infused marinade, then char-grilled until they’re smoky and utterly irresistible.
These treasures are cradled in a toasty Italian roll, drizzled with a finger-licking homemade garlic sauce that brings it all together. This isn’t just a meal, it’s an experience. If there’s a sandwich worth firing up the grill for, this is the one. Don’t just trust me, let your taste buds do the talking!
What Are Spiedies?
Chicken Spiedies are a popular dish originating from Binghamton in the Southern Tier of New York State. The term “spiedie” (pronounced “speedy”) comes from the Italian spiedo meaning spit, and simply refers to cubes of meat cooked on a skewer.
This regional specialty, known for its long marination period and distinct marinade ingredients, is typically served in a soft roll, similar to a sub or hoagie, with the skewer removed. While chicken is a common choice, Spiedies can also be made with almost any meat including pork, lamb, beef, and venison.
Why You’ll Love These Chicken Spiedies
- Quick Easy Meal! This is a no-fuss super simple recipe that produces the most delicious chicken sandwiches with layers of flavor using just a handful of basic ingredients and a hot grill.
- NY Italian American Classic! Binghamton, New York, is the birthplace of these incredibly tasty lemon herb marinated grilled chicken skewer sandwiches!
- Versatile Dish! While the traditional way to enjoy spiedies is on a warm toasted roll, the cubes of grilled chicken can also be eaten right off the skewer as an appetizer, used to top salads, make tacos, or even incorporated into other recipes.
- Chicken Breasts: The star of this dish, chicken is a lean and versatile protein. You can substitute it with other meats like pork, beef, or lamb.
- Italian Rolls: These rolls are soft and slightly chewy, perfect for holding the grilled chicken. Substitute with any sturdy bread or roll that can hold up to the juicy, marinated chicken.
- Butter: Used to brush on the rolls for a toasty, buttery flavor. If you’re dairy-free, use a vegan butter alternative or olive oil.
- Olive Oil: Used in the marinade for richness and to help the herbs adhere to the chicken. You can use any neutral oil in its place.
- Lemon Juice: Adds tanginess to both the marinade and the garlic sauce. Vinegar could be used as a substitute.
- Fresh Cilantro and Parsley: These herbs add a bright, fresh flavor to the marinade. You can replace them with other fresh herbs like basil or oregano.
- Salt and Pepper: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients. Adjust according to your taste preference.
- Vegetable Oil: Used in the garlic sauce for a neutral, clean flavor. Can be substituted with any neutral oil.
- Garlic: Provides a robust, aromatic flavor to the garlic sauce. If you’re not a fan, reduce the amount or skip it entirely.
- Egg White: Acts as an emulsifier for the garlic sauce. For an egg-free version, you can leave it out, the sauce might just be a bit thinner. Alternatively, use aquafaba or soy lecithin.
This chicken spiedie recipe is a breeze! Similar to Chicken Kebabs, spiedies are grilled on skewers which means they are incredibly easy to make! But don’t fret if you don’t own a grill! You can simply cook them in a cast iron grill pan on the stovetop or pop them under a broiler.
The first step is to make the addictively good garlic sauce, which will give the fresh garlic some extra time to infuse the sauce with flavor! All you have to do is put all the sauce ingredients into a blender and then blend the mixture together until a smooth sauce forms, which typically takes about 1 to 2 minutes. Then just put the sauce in the fridge until you are ready to assemble your sandwiches.
Next, make the chicken marinade by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Then put the chunks of chicken into a ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Now, seal the bag tightly and toss the chicken around in the marinade until it’s well coated. Then open the bag just a bit, remove as much air as possible, and seal the bag again. This helps to create better contact between the chicken and the marinade. Finally, put the chicken in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
For the most flavorful Spiedies, let the chicken marinate overnight. This allows the marinade to deeply penetrate the chicken, infusing it with a rich, herbaceous flavor that’s unrivaled. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!
Once the chicken has had enough time to properly marinate, make sure your grill is ready for cooking by checking to see that it is clean and oiling the grill grates. Then preheat your gas grill to medium-high so that it can get good and hot while you skewer the marinated chicken.
While your grill is heating up you’ll want to get the rolls and chicken prepped. To begin, cut all the rolls in half lengthwise and then generously brush the inside of the rolls with butter. Next, thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers dividing the cubes of meat equally among them.
After the marinated chicken has been skewered, lay all the skewers directly onto the hot grill in a single layer. Now, grill the chicken skewers on each side for about 3 minutes or until they are fully cooked and begin to brown. Chicken is considered done once the internal temperature of the meat has reached at least 165°F (74°C). Then place the rolls on the grill buttered side down and grill them for about 2 minutes or until the bread is toasty.
No grill? No problem! Heat your grill pan over medium-high heat, then cook the skewered chicken, turning frequently, for about 3-4 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked through and beautifully charred.
Now that the chicken is grilled, the rolls are toasted, and the sauce is made, it’s time to put these delicious sandwiches together! First, lay a grilled chicken skewer inside each of the toasted rolls. Then carefully slide the chicken off the stick just leaving the meat on the bread. Finally, drizzle each sandwich with some garlic sauce and then immediately serve your marinated chicken spiedies!
Egg Free Garlic Sauce
The egg white in the garlic sauce helps to create a creamy and stable emulsion. However, if you prefer not to use egg or are catering to dietary restrictions, you can substitute the egg white with the following options:
- Aquafaba: Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas and it acts as an excellent egg substitute due to its similar protein content. Use 2 tablespoons of aquafaba to replace the egg white.
- Soy Lecithin: Soy lecithin is a natural emulsifier and can be used to replace the egg white. Use around 1/2 teaspoon for this recipe.
Remember to adjust your seasoning as needed when making substitutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use other meats for Spiedies?
Absolutely! While chicken is traditional, you can experiment with pork, beef, or even lamb. Just adjust your cooking time to ensure the meat is cooked through.
I don’t have Italian rolls. What else can I use?
Any sturdy bread or roll that can hold up to the juicy, marinated chicken will work. Sub rolls or hoagie rolls are good alternatives.
Can I make the garlic sauce ahead of time?
Yes, you can. In fact, the flavors will intensify over time. Just store it in the fridge and give it a good stir or shake before using.
Can I use dried herbs instead of fresh for the marinade?
Fresh herbs are preferred for their bright, fresh flavors, but if you only have dried herbs on hand, use about one third of the specified amount, since dried herbs are more potent.
Expert Tips
- Equal size chunks. One of the keys to grilling perfect skewers is making sure to cube the skinless chicken breast into bite-size pieces that are all about the same size, which helps to ensure that they cook more evenly.
- Properly marinate the chicken. As the recipe states, you need to leave the chicken marinating in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Yet, if possible you should leave it even longer to further enhance the taste and tenderness of the meat.
- Soak wooden skewers. If you opt to use wooden or bamboo skewers you will want to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before adding the chicken. This helps to prevent the skewers from catching fire or burning on the grill.
- Just wait if it’s sticking. If you find that your chicken skewers are sticking to the grill, just give them another minute. If the temperature is too high chicken will sometimes stick, but the good news is that once the char marks form it should release itself.
Storage
Storing leftover Chicken Spiedies is a breeze. Simply place them in an airtight container and pop them in the fridge, where they’ll keep beautifully for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to serve them again, reheat gently on a stovetop or in the oven to bring them back to their juicy best. So, go ahead and make a big batch, you’ll be glad to have these mouthwatering leftovers on hand!
Other Delicious Chicken Recipes
- Grilled Chicken Kebabs
- Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Easy Grilled Chicken Breast
- Cilantro Lime Chicken with Strawberry Salsa
- Beer and Honey BBQ Chicken Skewers
- Crispy Chicken Cutlets
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Marinated Chicken Spiedies
Video
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
- 4 Italian rolls
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
Marinade Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
- salt and pepper to taste
Garlic sauce
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 1 egg white*
- 1 teaspoon salt
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Garlic Sauce
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, it should take 1 to 2 minutes. This recipe will make about 1½ cups of sauce, refrigerate leftover sauce.
Spiedies
- In a small bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the bag, toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours up to overnight.
- When ready to cook turn on your grill to medium high heat. Clean and oil the grill.
- Cut the rolls lengthwise and brush the inside of the roll generously with butter.
- Thread the chicken on 4 skewers, making sure to divide the meat equally among the skewers.
- Grill the chicken on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked and starts to brown. Place the rolls on the grill and let them grill for about 2 minutes or until the bread starts to brown.
- In each roll lay a grilled skewer inside. Gripping the roll at the bottom, carefully slide skewer off, leaving meat in the bread. Drizzle generously with the garlic sauce.
Notes
- Egg White: You can omit the egg white in the recipe. It’s primarily used as an emulsifier to help the oil and lemon juice blend together more smoothly, creating a creamier sauce. However, if you or someone you’re cooking for has an egg allergy or dietary restrictions, you can leave it out. The sauce may be a bit thinner and less creamy, but it should still taste great. Just make sure to blend the sauce well and give it a good stir or shake before drizzling it onto your spiedies.
- Marination Time: The longer the chicken marinates, the more flavorful it will be. If time allows, consider marinating the chicken overnight.
- Grilling: Be careful not to overcook the chicken to keep it juicy and tender. Keep an eye on your skewers and turn them regularly for even grilling.
- Substitutions: While chicken is traditionally used, feel free to use other meats like pork, beef, or lamb.
- Serving: Chicken Spiedies are best served fresh off the grill. However, if you’re planning to serve them later, consider grilling the bread and heating up the chicken just before serving.
- Garlic Sauce: This sauce is quite flavorful. If you’re not a fan of strong garlic flavor, you might want to start with half the amount and adjust to taste.
- Storage: Leftover Chicken Spiedies can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently to avoid drying out the chicken.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
The chicken was so tender and flavorful. And the garlic sauce was aaamazing. Thank you for another great recipe.
My pleasure, so glad you liked it!
The sandwich looks great, but my garlic sauce has me scratching my head. Is it supposed to be creamy (is that the sauce in the picture)? I blended it (and added more blending time), and it’s still oily and the garlic is separating very quickly. It doesn’t look like it should, I’m sure.
I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with the garlic sauce. It does sound like it’s separated a bit. The key to getting a creamy texture is to emulsify the oil and garlic together, which essentially means you’re dispersing the oil in the garlic and lemon juice mixture.
Here are a few tips: start with the garlic and lemon juice first, and blend until the garlic is well minced. Then, slowly drizzle in the oil while the blender is running. This should help create a creamy and well-blended sauce. If it’s still separating, try adding a teaspoon of mustard or an egg yolk, both of which are natural emulsifiers and can help to stabilize the sauce.
Hope this helps, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions.
The flavors in this are wonderful.
We didn’t have any rolls so I made rice with it instead. & I used Xanthan Gum instead of the egg white.
Everything tasted wonderful.
Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!!
My pleasure and thank you for your feedback.
where I live we can’t have outside grills, I would really like to make this is there another way ? Love all of your recipes
Yes, you can use a grill pan. You can find the instructions right here: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/marinated-chicken-spiedies-with-garlic-sauce/#Grill_The_Chicken_And_Rolls
This sounds fantastic, however, I grew up in the Binghamton area and cilantro is not in the spiedie marinade 😊
Sure, feel free to change the herbs to your liking. Common herbs include basil, oregano and mint, but sometimes others are included as well. This is merely my version.
I also grew up in Binghamton…and chicken is not the traditional meat, as it says in this recipe. Lamb, pork or beef. And definitely no Cilantro…that is not Italian!
This is one of our families’ favorite dinners – super easy and delicious. I even use the garlic sauce for other recipes. Delicious!
I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now and never knew you had a spiedie recipe. I’m from Binghamton so this just made my day! Looks amazing, can’t wait to make it!
Hope you like it!
It’s not a traditional spiedie recipe since those from the area add the garlic to the marinade, don’t use cilantro & it’s generally served on Italian bread. It was originally made for extremely tough or gamey meats such as mutton or venison. The original marinade allowed one to leave the meat in the marinade for a week. In daily service they serve either chicken or pork.Spiedie sauce can be used on fish or vegetables, but the marination time is much, much shorter. There are 2 local companies in Binghamton & Endicott that commercially make a variety of spiedie sauce flavors.
I grew up in Endicott!! Spiedies were a way of life. I am in Texas now and cannot find good bread to use! So sad!
This was delicious & we will be making it again! We added extra garlic cloves to the sauce as we don’t think you can have too much garlic 🙂
OMG!!! I’ve made Spiedies for years. This one, with the garlic sauce? YUM!!! Thank you!!
Love this recipe, Jo, as I have all of yours that I’ve tried…
Just a suggestion – in regards to uncooked egg whites in the sauce – if you’re worried about salmonella, simply use egg whites – pasteurized egg whites are available in cartons in the dairy section of most grocery stores – they’re inexpensive and safe when you need egg whites but not the yummy yolks!
That’s right! 🙂
One more thing…
In the post body it mentions garlic in the marinade ingredients, but there’s no mention of it in the ingredients list or the instructions on the recipe card – Now I erred to the side of garlic (as I always do) and added about four minced cloves to the marinade as well. But which is it supposed to be?
I made vegetable skewers to go with these (zucchini, yellow squash, onion, mushrooms, bell peppers and grape tomatoes) and doubled the sauce for them. Perfect summer dinner.
Forgot to rate it before, too…
Thanks again!
Thanks for that, fixed it, there is no garlic in the marinade, but then who am I kidding. You can add garlic to anything!
I tried your Marinated Chicken Spiedies with Garlic Sauce but I realized that if I add chili sauce, it’s more delicious, and in my restaurant, I have already lots of dishes in the menu but I want to update the menu list and after a long search I got perfect dish for my restaurant, in future I will introduce into my New Sham Baltimore restaurant.
Husband and I loved this recipe. However, I did not have skewers nor an outdoor grill, but everything else was great. Perfect Jo
I’m from Vestal, NY, a suburb of Binghamton and yes, I grew up with these. My mom always made them with lamb (pretty much the most popular meat in our area) and in the winter we’d spit the marinated lamb and cook it over the wood in the fireplace. Yum! Your recipe is pretty close to the one I grew up with. Thanks for sharing this great recipe on your blog for others to enjoy!
So happy to hear this, and I’m glad the recipe is close to what you remember. 🙂
its waaay too cold to grill. Can the chicken be grilled on a grill pan? If so how would that work? More time because it is a grill pan?
Absolutely! Depends how hot your grill pan is, it might take a couple minutes longer, but shouldn’t take too much longer. You could even just cook the chicken cubes in a skillet.
Great recipe, but I’m partial to lamb (according to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, lamb is a vegetarian item, so I guess that makes my preference vegetarian, lol).
Amazed to see this recipe here. I’m from Vestal, NY, a suburb of Binghamton and I grew up eating these made by my mother. Her twist on it in the winter (not a griller) was to put the meat on hotdog spits and cook in the fireplace. Different, right?
Yes, snowy high school football games, freezing in my wool band uniform and holding a metal flute… those were the days. I now live in SoCal…
In the Binghamton area we just make up extra marinade, heat it up, and serve to drizzle over the cooked meat. We are pretty basic, purist types…
Thanks again for the nod to the Binghamton area.
My pleasure, Lyn! So glad you enjoyed this and that I took you down memory lane. 🙂